Anticosti Island, Nugget of the North
gllfiener.. \\ilson
No Pale Parlor Brew, but Scalding Woods Tea, Boiled Black as Molasses
Joseph Apestiguy, warden of the Otter (La Loutre) River, ladles himself a "cup that cheers" from a sooty
kettle. Two discarded horseshoes, joined by iron bars, serve as an efficient grill.
Reassured, he took the helm again and we
went clicking off deeper into the wilderness.
Port Menier is local headquarters of the
paper company that owns and administers
the island.
Anticosti is under the laws of Quebec Prov
ince, but the owners operate the school and
support the church. They enforce special
regulations, some of them inherited from the
Menier days.
For instance, dogs are forbidden on the
island, but cats are welcome. Only the cor
poration can post notices. No one, except in
case of shipwreck, can land on Anticosti with
out permission. Nobody can recover damages
for any injury done by any wild animal. No
broken glass may be thrown about.
Except for lighthouse keepers and radio op
erators, everybody who works is employed by
the owner company. Fire, game, and fish
wardens are stationed at the mouths of the
principal streams. Many of them make their
homes in the red angling pavilions erected by
Henri Menier. In summer the men guide the
anglers who come for the salmon fishing.
Their wives and children raise vegetables,
chickens, and rabbits to supplement the sup
plies provided by the company farm. Young
men now are going away for war service.
Apologies for Only Six Children
Large families are the rule. Mothers apolo
gize for as few as six children. Families of a
dozen or fifteen children are common.
One mother lined up her offspring accord
ing to age for our inspection. From the eld
est down, they were stepped regularly, about
a year apart in age and a couple of inches in
height. But there was a gap in the middle
of the orderly descent.
"That was de place of de third boy," ma
dame explained.
"He was 'unting in de woods w'en-bang!
de gun go off an' keel heem."
On an almost completely forested island,
fire is the dread enemy. An airplane on floats,
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